Tony and Ziva, standing by Karina's sleeper, stood next to Gibbs, Mimi and Lily, watching Tim and Abby dancing. Seeing the room filled with their friends and family, Tony put his hands around Ziva's waist and declared, "Now, this is what I call a Life Worth Waiting For."

Welcome to the third story in my "Life" series. You will need to read "A Life Worth Waiting For" for this installment to make sense, and reading the first story "Life as I Saw It" would be a good idea as well. This first chapter takes place concurrent with Chapter Forty-three, the final chapter of ALWWF. I hope you enjoy this continuation as much as I have writing it. I love my new characters and hope those of you who are just now finding this series will enjoy them as well. And now…On with the show!

A Life Full of Surprises

Chapter One: "Baby Duty"

The wedding party was finally winding down. Gibbs and Mimi had convinced Tony and Ziva to take an actual honeymoon, albeit a short one. It took a lot of arguing and convincing that Karina would be able to survive without her parents for a few days, although Gibbs knew that the real problem was whether or not her parents would survive the separation.

Finally satisfied, it was decided that Karina would stay in her own room and Gibbs and Mimi would stay at Tony and Ziva's house, so Karina would feel more comfortable.

Mimi had taken Karina back home as soon as the last family photo was taken and she had had her last "dance;" and texted Tony and Ziva showing Karina asleep in her crib.

The deal was that they could only call once a day, although they were promised cute pictures and videos would be sent periodically.

In early March, Tony and Gibbs had gone to New York to look at the apartment that was part of his mother's estate.* She had hired a company to rent it out periodically, so it had generated quite a lot of income that had gone into a separate fund that was to be used for repairs, updates and building fees, a fund Tony had not known about.

The apartment was well-maintained, but the decorations were decidedly more 90's than current. But renters didn't care; it was in a great location and had a stunning view of Central Park.

Tony hired a contractor through his lawyer to update the kitchen and bathrooms (it was a three-bedroom apartment). He then had the master bedroom repainted a color he knew would be something Ziva would like and bought all new bedding that was tasteful, but neutral. Ziva could redecorate to her taste later.

It was at this apartment that Tony and Ziva would be staying for their honeymoon in New York. They planned to take in at least one show, but otherwise, they would plan their day daily, leaving it all to desire and whim.

They planned to return on Tuesday, so that meant that they would be away from Karina for almost four days. For them, it felt like a lifetime, but they knew they were leaving her in wonderful and expert hands.

They had left around 10:45, a private jet taking them to New York, courtesy of Tony's dad.* They texted they had arrived without incident and were taking one of the last horse-drawn carriage rides of the evening.

Gibbs, Tim, Abby, Lily, Jimmy and Vance made sure all the presents were accounted for, and that no one left behind any personal items. Breena, well into her second trimester, was taken earlier with Ducky in a cab to his Georgetown brownstone. Jimmy would join them there.

Satisfied that they had everything, the cars were loaded up. Tim and Abby promised to bring by what they had the next day, sometime in the afternoon. Jimmy made a similar statement.

Gibbs had no doubt about the real meaning behind those statements. It had been a long and although happy; an emotional day for all of them. Gibbs doubted any of them would get out of bed before 11am.

Gibbs and Mimi had brought both of their cars, knowing they would need to leave separately. Lily squeezed into Gibbs car, and together they drove to Tony and Ziva's North Arlington Home.

"You're staying at the house tonight too, Lily. I don't know if your mom noticed, but I saw how much champagne you consumed."

"I am not drunk!" She pouted. "I didn't say you were." Gibbs replied. "But I want you to be safe. It's not up for discussion. You are staying with us tonight."

"Ok, Dad." When Lily was unhappy with Gibbs, which was very rarely, she referred to Gibbs as "Dad." The rest of the time, he was "Daddy."

Gibbs and Mimi had decided to move in together in February, although it was almost March by the time their two households finally had merged. With Jethro's permission, Mimi made some "decorating" changes to his home.

Just having her furniture in the house was a vast improvement. There was no question that the photo of Gibbs, Shannon and Kelly would remain on the mantel.

Joining it would be a photo of Gibbs, Mimi and Lily taken at Tony and Ziva's wedding, when they got it and had it framed. Pictures of Karina would also be added to the place of honor.

Mimi did not want to remove all reminders of Shannon and Kelly, but she talked long and hard with him about leaving Kelly's room untouched from the day she had died.

She thought that it was unhealthy, and wasn't serving any useful purpose. Gibbs put her off for a while, not really wanting to change it.

But he finally saw what she was trying to do and understood what she was saying. The important things were placed in a new curio cabinet that was placed downstairs for everyone to see, so they could see Kelly's life and its important milestones.

The things he couldn't bear to part with, that wouldn't fit in the curio, were placed in a metal container so no damage could come to the precious items, and stored.

He then allowed Lily to redecorate the room to her taste, as that would be her room should she ever decide she needed to come live with them. Mimi decided she would tackle the other bedrooms later, if…well, she didn't want to think that they might not always be together, but this was just a new step, not a permanent situation.

Also added to the Gibbs household was Mimi's Sheltie Bailey. Bailey was a very friendly dog and loved everybody and formed a special attachment to Gibbs from the beginning. He always treated the woman as if he was the alpha dog, but Gibbs was the leader of the pack.

He was a little surprised at the baby, having never seen one before. He showed some interest, but didn't bother her too much. As she got a few months older and started wiggling around and making more noises, he decided she needed protection and could often be found sitting or lying down in front of her crib or pack and play if she was sleeping.

But for the most part, he became Gibbs' new best friend; riding with him in the truck, his mouth open in a wide laugh. He also supervised downstairs when Gibbs' was working on one of his projects.

Gibbs' was at first a little wary of adding a dog to his house, mostly because of the shedding. But you couldn't help but fall in love with Bailey.

He loved having baths and would jump into the bathtub when told he was getting one. He would strut around with a towel over his back, King Bailey with his robe, overseeing all of his subjects.

North Arlington

Gibbs pulled into Tony's garage, and started unloading the car. Lily helped, no longer mad. She was a definite "Abby clone" and that extended to having a good heart and wanting everyone to be happy.

Mimi and Bailey met them at the door. "Let's put them in the den for now, I guess, to keep them all together. No, Lily, even the opened ones." A few gifts had been insisted upon being opened at the wedding.

Finally done, both Gibbs and Lily fell back on the sofa in the family room. Mimi joined them, flopping down between them. Satisfied that all was well, and after getting his required ear scratches and butt rubs, Bailey headed upstairs to his assigned post as Karina's personal guard.

"How's the baby?" Gibbs asked.

"Better than were are." Mimi quipped. Gibbs chuckled. "Want some tea?" He bent down and kissed Mimi. "That would be great! Thanks!"

"Lily?" Gibbs called behind his back as he was headed for the kitchen.

"Just a coke if they have any."

"How's root beer?" Gibbs called, not too loudly to wake Karina up.

"That'll work."

He looked quickly in the freezer and shook his head. Gibbs grabbed the requested items and headed back into the family room and dispersed the drinks accordingly.

Sitting back down, he took a long sip. "How long did they say they were going to be gone?" He looked at Mimi with an expression she couldn't quite read.

"They said they would be back by Tuesday. Why?"

"Well, either Karina is a real piggy or they are planning to be away longer than they said. There must be a hundred baby bottles of breast milk in their freezer!" Gibbs shook his head.

Mimi chuckled. "Those are not all for this weekend. Ziva constantly keeps a supply for when they go out, or emergencies. Oh, we will definitely use a lot of them, but really Jethro! Calling your granddaughter a pig!"

"I was figuring she was just taking after her father." At that, both Mimi and Lily started laughing, trying to hold it in and ended up snorting, just like Ziva does. Mimi slapped his arm. "See what you made me do! I hate it when I snort!"

Gibbs grinned. "I find it endearing." He turned to Lily. "The downstairs is yours. If you feel like watching TV or a movie, the room is soundproofed, as long as you don't crank it to brain bleed level."

She raised her can of root beer. "I may just take you up on that offer."

Gibbs got up. "Where are you going?" Mimi asked.

He just grinned, and headed up the stairs. He quietly entered Karina's room and stood at her crib, and watched her sleeping. Bailey looked up briefly, lay back down on his side, rolled onto his back with his legs splayed wide, and started snoring. She looked so peaceful and the perfect combination of her parent's features.

Abby was right, her hair was darkening and showing definite signs of being every bit as curly as her mom's. She had her dad's green eyes, her mom's nose and her dad's mouth.

He marveled at this little creature, thinking of where they were a year ago, just beginning the heart of the Harper Dearing case. Never would he, nor Tony or Ziva he imagined, have thought that a year later Karina Lee DiNozzo would be living proof that life goes on and was worth fighting for.

At first, he didn't get the significance of the middle name. When he asked Tony how he came up with it and he explained it was for Dr. Lee Iredale, Ziva's OB; and for Leroy Gibbs, he almost lost it. Being a fairly gender neutral name, if Karina had been a boy, "Lee" still would have been the middle name.

As he stood looking at his granddaughter, he could hear and sense Mimi coming up behind him. He brought out his arm to put around her shoulders as she reached him.

"How do you do that?" She asked, kissing the offered lips. "It's my job, remember?" They both looked at Karina for a while. Mimi pulled out her phone. "Last photo for the night." She smiled. She quickly and quietly took the picture of the sleeping baby, and one of Bailey; and sent them to both Tony's and Ziva's cell phones.

Together, they left the room and closed the door a crack. They then went to the guest room. "Lily has retired to her "room" as she calls it."

"Good." Gibbs said and pulled Mimi down on the bed. She giggled. "After the long and stressful day you just had, how can you possibly have the energy to do more than sleep?"

"Marines don't need sleep." He kissed her neck. He looked up. "Are you too tired?" He studied her face, concerned.

"I will never be too tired for you, Jethro, my Marine." Gibbs grinned.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Gibbs woke up to find he was alone in bed. He looked at his watch and saw it was 7 am. He groaned, then realized Karina must have woken up and wanted to be fed. He was surprised; because he was sure he would have woken up if she had started crying.

Curious, he got up and headed for the hallway. There, he found Mimi standing just inside Karina's room, but not within her eyesight. Mimi saw him come out of the room and put her finger to his lips, so he wouldn't say anything.

He joined Mimi at the door. From the crib, they could hear Karina, babbling away in her sing-song voice. A lot of it was nonsense, but "mama", "dada", "papa", "baba", "booboo" and other variations of "aa-aa", and "ooo-ooo" words were definitely vocalized. Mimi turned her phone video on so she could send it to Tony and Ziva.

Gibbs was mesmerized. "It almost sounds as if she is singing."

Mimi nodded her head. "She is at the stage where she can entertain herself." They heard one of her jingling rings add to the concert. "She is playing, and teaching herself at the same time. The life of a baby is fascinating."

"However, I think it has been too long since she has last eaten and I don't believe in baby's having to cry in order to get fed, so…"

She headed for the crib, still taking the video, with Gibbs in tow. Karina was on her belly, having a discussion with her reflection in the mirror. She had hold of one of her rings that had bells inside it.

She quickly sensed their presence and looked up and grinned. She looked momentarily confused it was not mommy or daddy, but it was somebody she recognized so she was quickly happy again.

Her babbling increased in volume, which Gibbs took to either mean "where is my mommy and daddy," or "it's about time you showed up so I can finally have my breakfast."

Mimi flipped her over and looked at Gibbs. "Do you want to do the diaper or do you want to go fix her bottle and cereal?" Gibbs looked at Mimi, giving her serious consideration. "I think I'll do diaper duty."

"Way to go Grandpa!" Mimi gave him a quick kiss and headed downstairs.

"Ok, princess. Let's see what gift you have for your grandpa."

Karina raised one eyebrow and grinned.

And there my friends, is the beginning of my new story. I did a lot of background in case there are any new readers so they won't be totally lost. A couple of notes: First, I don't remember if we have ever been shown Kelly's room on the show, so if it has been shown and it was stripped bare, my apologies. I thought it showed a more interesting side of Gibbs to have it untouched; Second, the two sentences followed by asterisk's mean that the explanation for these statements comes from one of my other stories, "Promonitions." Off the top of my head, I can't tell you which chapter, but it is the one about the spoiler of Tony's dad showing up around Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter takes us to New York and the honeymooners. Cheers. Oh, and of'course; Bailey is my real dog and he does everything described in this story, except the baby thing. He has no experience with babies, but knowing my Bailey, I can well imagine him being that way. He has been very protective of me and is always at my side, awake or asleep. Until of'course, his "Daddy" comes home from work, then I cease to exist, unless I have food or mention bath or treat. sigh